Improvement in car-couplings



L. Moonv. Y Car Coupling. No. 45,733.

Patented Jan. 3, 1865.l

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LORING MOODY, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

lMPPLOVEMENT lN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l/733, dated January 3, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LORTNG MOODY, of Mal- Cea, in the county of Middlesex and State ot Massachusetts, ha-ve invented an Improved R tilway-Car Coupling; and l do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following sneciiication and represented in the aecompa lying drawings, ot' which- Figure 1 is a top view, Fig. 2 Va side elevation, and Fig. 3 a longitudinal section, of it, the same exhibiting the parts as they app far when the shackling-pin is in its lowest position. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section representing the parts as they appear when the s'iackling-pin is at its highest position. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the head of the lhackling-pin.

In the said drawings, .A denotes a bunterbar of' a railway-carriage, such bar being pro-V vided with a link-chamber or recess, a, having a Haring mouth, b.

A trippinglever, D, formed as shown in Figs. l and 4, is arranged vertically within the bunter-bar and turns on apin, c, as ai'ulcrum, the tail d extending below the pin. rThe longer arm c of the lever, when such lever is in its lnvest position, rests on the upper surface of the bunter and has a curved shackling-pin, O, passed down through it and the buuterhead, the curved hole or holes for the reception ot' the pin O being shown at e e. The shacklingpin is separate from the tripping-lever, and is held in place within such lever by means of a spring catch, D, whose free end enters a notch, f, made longitudinally in the head g of the pin, the said notch serving to prevent the pin from turning around Y laterally within the lever. Furthermore, there is a slot, 7L, formed in the lever, it being for reception of the fulcrum-pin c. This slot is to enable the strain of the draft-link D on the shackling-pin to draw such pin closely against the front side ot' its passage c, and thus relieve the fulcrumpin c of the pressure ofthe lever, which would otherwise be induced by such strain. By having the shackling pin sepa-rate from the lever and so applied thereto as to be capable ot' being readily removed from it, the pin, when so worn by the couplinglink as to be unsafe, can be removed from the lever, and another or fresh one be substituted in the place ofthe Worn pin.

Preparatory to connecting two cars, the tripping-lever and the shackling-pin should be raised into the positions exhibited in Fig. 4. The link, supposed to be projecting from the bunter-head of the adjacent car, on being t'orced into the bunter-head having the lever and pin raised, will be driven into contact with the tail of the tripping-lever and cause .the lever and the shackling-pin to descend into the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in

which case the pin will extend through ihe link. and the coupling of the cars will be eft'ected.

In order to uncouple the cars, the couplingpin and the lever should be raised so as t.) carry or draw the pin out ot' the link. This can be done by a person by simply pulling up` ward the lever by a line attached to a staple, t', inserted in its front end.

The coupling is a self-acting one in the matter of connecting the two carriages, and saves the necessity of a person going between their platforms i'orthe purpose ot' effecting either the connection or disconnection 'of such carriages, a process which is attended with great risk and danger of accident to the individual and has frequently occasioned loss of life or serious bodily injury.

I do not claim in a car-coupling a trippinglever formed at its front end with a hook permanently attached to such lever.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows l. The combination ot' the separate curved pin O with the tripping lever B and the recessed bunter-bar A.

2. The combination of the separate curved pin O and its holding mechanism-viz., the spring D and notch j', or their mechanical equivalent or equivalentswith the trippinglever D and the recessed bunter-bar A, the whole being substantially as described.

The combination ofthe sloth, or its mech.- anical equivalent, with the tripping-lever, its curved pin, and the recessed bunter-bar, the said slot being arranged in manner and for lthe purpose set forth.

LORING MOODY.

Xliitnesscs:

lt. H. EDDY, D. F. HALL. 

